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Sunday, 7 August 2016

There are two places that are home to me: A Guest Post by Dagny McKinley

There
are two places that are home to me:
my writing and nature. Writing has been with me since I can remember. My
parents read stories to me growing up and from a young age I loved the
imagination necessary to create. The first story I remember writing was How the Leprechauns Got Their Name. Today,
creating stories fills me with peace inside. When I sit down to write I become
absorbed in the worlds and images I’m trying to create and the rest of me
disappears. I become the story.

My second home and the place I feel whole is in nature. When my family and I lived in Dogmersfield, Hants we went for family walks along the canal. I complained on every walk about how my feet hurt and how I wanted to go home but they kept making me go. When I was nine my sister and I were sent to camp in Canada on an island with no phones, no electricity and no hot water. We learned to bathe in the lake, how to make fires and pitch a tent, how to shoot a bow and arrow, how to canoe and more. Those months at camp taught me a love of nature and of being outdoors. I remember being woken up on the night of the full moon at camp. Our counselor walked us down a path to the end of the island where a large cauldron bubbled with hot chocolate. We were each given a cup to sip as we sang songs facing the full moon watching its reflection on the lake surrounding us. Later in life the wilderness became my home, a place of refuge, of growth and of healing for me. I spent three seasons as a volunteer backcountry ranger in Yosemite National Park where the world opened up to me. I learned to take care of myself and began photographing the places that meant so much to me.

Eleven
years ago I worked for a dog sledding tour company. I fell in love with the
sled dogs. I began to photograph them trying to capture their personalities,
their unconditional love and their strength. Those photographs led to my first
book Wild Hearts: Dog Sledding the
Rockies. From that job I brought home an Alaskan Husky puppy, Alma Rose.
She is my best friend and has accompanied me on more adventures than I can
count. We hike together for several hours every day. She has taught me to
appreciate the smallest moments in life. My adventures with her led me to write
The Adventures of a Girl & Her Dog, a
book series that celebrates the bond between a girl and her dog as they explore
the natural world around them. Getting to know the wilderness as well as the
town I live in was the inspiration for writing The Springs of Steamboat: healing waters, mysterious caves and
sparkling soda. This book tells the history of the small town I live in.
Writing the book gave me a much greater appreciation for the town I live in and
the wonders it offers.

Today
I have settled into the places that I call home. I wake up grateful for the
life I live, for every sunrise and sunset and the wild animals I have had the
privilege of encountering. When I come home, most days I write, looking for
ways to express the inspirational world around me.

Dear Dagny, thank you for sharing such a delightful post. I just know readers of this blog will enjoy it as much as I did. Barbara

Dagny McKinley has lived many places, but found a home in the expansive granite landscape of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. She is as comfortable in the city as she is in the wilderness, but prefers the challenges of big mountains and surviving outdoors. Dagny stays current on environmental issues, women’s issues and is an avid animal rights supporter. She believes all lives are interconnected and each person, landscape and insect has something to offer and teach. Writing has been a part of Dagny's life since she was a small child. She found healing through writing and nature and continues to immerse herself in those passions today.

Hello Dagny, Barbara, What a delightful story, Dagny I envy your ability to write so well of your experiences of such beautiful places and then create such interesting reading. It is a gift you have as does Barbara too. Thank you. John

Hello Barbara my friend, and pleasant to meet you, Dagny! I know what you mean about that feeling when you write. I was an only child and had very few toys...the only thing I had an abundance of was brown paper bags that my mother would give me and pencils. Once Christmas in fact, she had no money, so I got a pencil for Christmas. That was my destiny. I loved however, being in my world where I'd imagine, draw, and write what I observe. I too made friends with the neighbor's dog and he was about the only friend I had for a while, living in the bad parts of Los Angeles!

Nature, creativity and our willingness to change are marvelous ways to live. I wish you continued joy in your journey!

How wonderful to hear from Dagny! I went to sleep away camp in New Hampshire, USA for most of my life (I stopped going when I was going when I was 17 I loved it so much). I learned so much about nature there too. Some of my favorite memories are from camp and the canoe trips, hikes, and other activities we would do. Loved hearing about Dagny's experience.

I love that you got to be a ranger at Yellowstone. It is one of my favorite places on earth and I think it is fantastic you got to spend so much time there. I have been there for visits on two separate occasions and it is just out of this world.

Hi Barbara! You do have lovely, fascinating friends.Dagny -this is an inspiring post.Your photos are fabulous. What can be better than reading surrounded by nature (maybe with a cup of tea/some chocolate....)?

How cool that she worked for a dog sledding tour company! Nature isn't really my thing, unless I'm watching it through a window in a temperature-controlled building! But I live in Tennessee, where it's 90 degrees-plus from April to October!

I understand Stephanie and might not be so keen in those temperatures! England is much kinder to us – unless it is in the depths of winter when it can get pretty chilly. We all complain about the rain, but it does ensure a green and pleasant land.

Very nice getting to know you, Dagny! Your camp in Canada sounds wonderful. An island with a bubbling cauldron of hot chocolate=Yum. Reading about your experience working and living with dogs makes me wistful. Where there is Nature and your dogs is definitely where home is for you.

You are most welcome for the comment. Indeed, I have a dog named Penny, who kindly allows me to live with her. Penny is actually a modest internet superstar! Our animal friends do indeed have much to teach us. Alma Rose will continue to inspire you.

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About Me

This is where I share my collection of vintage
books, and other favourite things. I
also showcase new children’s books written by authors I admire. I am an
ex-bookseller, now full time blogger. My husband and I live in a small village
in Somerset, UK. Thanks for visiting. Barbara xx

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There are fairies at the bottom of our garden! It's not so very far away; you pass the gardener’s shed and you just keep straight ahead, I do so hope they've really come to stay. Rose Fyleman

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When little elves have cut themselves, or mouse has hurt her tail, or froggie's arm has come to harm, this herb will never fail. The fairy's skill can cure each ill and soothe the sorest pain; She'll bathe, and bind, and soon they'll find that they are well again. Flower Fairies of the wayside C. M. Barker.